Berry-tray



O. 0. EATON.

BERRY TRAY.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.4.1921.

1,400,426. 1 Patented Dec.13, 1921.

FIGURE 1 I /6 J J ,5 r 6 l 5 I #5 1/ 6 /l' f FT M7 17 FIGURE 2 #IGURE 5 6 mvsmon 5 642; %%M

ATTORNEY murso stares rarest critics.

ORRIN'O. EATON, 0F .WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

f 1 BERRY-TRA To all whom it may concern:

Be it known-that 1, Oman 0. EATON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of VVatsonville, in the county of Santa Cruz and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Berry- Trays, of which the following is a specification.

lin the marketing of berries it is customary to put them up in small boxes arranged in trays, and the trays in turn arranged in chests such as disclosed in my Patent No. 1,853,155 dated September 21, 1920. In distributing the berries from the chest in the type of tray now commonly usech it is a diiiicult matter to prevent the berries in one tray from becoming crushed by the tray placed thereon since a slight movement of the upper tray in either direction longitudinally, will cause one end thereof to slip.

down upon the berries in the lower tray. When several trays from a chest are to be delivered from a distributing point considerable time and labor are required to properly build up the several trays so as to prevent injury to the contents thereof. Also, when the berries are placed on sale it has heretofore been necessary to display them in the chest, a method highly objectionable because of the room occupied by the chestand the difficulty of properly displaying the individual trays therein.

It is the object of my invention therefore, to provide a form of berry tray that Will be free from the objections above set forth; that can be quicklyand easily nested in any desired number for reshipment; that will at all times and under all conditions prevent one tray from slipping down upon the contents of the next lower tray; that will permit proper display of the berries independently of the chest; and that will at the same time provide for the proper circulation of air around the contents of the tray.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of two nested trays embodying my improvements.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 1-2 indicate the two end pieces of a tray, each end piece having a rabbet formed inits outer and upper edge as shown at 3 and 4; respectively, so that they face in oppo- Application filed January 4, 1921.

Specification of Letters fatent. @Patentgd Dec, 13, 1921 Serial No. 434,887.

site directions as shown. At 5-5-5 are bottom members nailed to the bottom edges of end pieces 1 and 2 and spaced apart the corresponding rabbet in the upper edgi'i of the end piece of the tray below without permitting the bottom members 5 to engage said end piece.

It is clear from the above disclosure that a sliding tray can be quickly and strongly made and made to slide easily by this method of assembly. Upon the delivery of a chest to a retail point the trays may be quickly removed therefromand stacked up themselves thereby making a better display and occupying less space than when they are retained in the chest. This method of display is rendered possible by the engaging cleat and rabbet construction which effectually eliminates the liabiiity of damage to the berries by slipping of the trays. By.

means of-this construction two or more trays may be temporarily fastened'together by end cleats as 9 and fitted with a top, as 10 thereby forming a solid shipping package capable of being transported without danger of injury to the contents.

The particular method of attaching the bottom members and cleats to the end pieces is desirable because its permits ventilation through spaces 11, utilizes the full width of end pieces 1-2 for supporting bottom elements 5-5-5, and permits the attaching of cleats 7-8 with the grain of the wood running in the direction of movement of the cleats in the rabbets; The formation of rabbets on the bottom edges of end pieces 1-2 would necessitate a careful fitting of bottom elements 5-5-5, and the shoulders would be so high that they wouldeasily split under rough usage and would be difficult and expensive to repair.

It is to be understood of course, that whiie l have herein shown and described one particular embodiment of my invention, that this disclosure 1s to be considered as illustrative only and in no way to llmit the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim, since changes in form and cohstrucpieces 1 and 2 to form Q 7 V r 1,400,426

tion may be made Without departing from space the same, and means arranged at each the spirit of the invention. end of'and upon said bottom slats to engage I claim corresponding rabbetsin a tray placed there- 10 A berry tray comprising end pieces hav below, whereby the one tray may slide freely 5 ing oppositely directed rabbets formed" 0n--the tray below.

therein and in their upper edges, side and" r 7 bottom slats arranged on said end pieces-to ORRIN O. EATON. 

